Brief Description

ELR objectives and expected student outcomes

Students will be able to engage in:
Online reading assessments, including pretests and embedded instructional tests.
Personalized lessons to meet their specific reading needs.
Lessons validated and aligned with the recommendations of the National Reading Panel.
One-on-one instruction that is explicit and systematic.
Monitored and adjusted lessons to meet the emerging needs of the student.
Rewards and motivations.
Consistent, expert instruction in every lesson.
Lessons that are available at any time an Internet-connected computer is available.

Summary of student activities/functions made possible by the resource

Students start the game, played with their best friend "StudyDog," when they are called to Lost Island by the anthropologist Dr. Z. The island is in danger of falling into the hands of mysterious forces, and Dr. Z needs their help. They fly to Lost Island in Dr. Z's private plane, face obstacles, and pursue a quest to save the island. They meet and help many characters along the way, and solve problems presented in a game environment.
Students have the option of their own individual username and password.

Summary of teacher activities/functions made possible by the resource

Teachers can manage several students under a single Teacher account, using the "My Account" area. A list of students is shown with options for each student to: Start lesson, View Pre-Test Reports, View Progress Reports, and Add new features to the student account.
Teachers can use the multi-student account to launch each student's program from a single location requiring only a single password to start all students.
Teachers can use the CD-ROM version for classroom management features, and the online version for importing and exporting features and reports.

Summary of support material provided with the resource

A CD-ROM version of the software provides classroom management features; the online version enables importing and exporting features, and includes school and district reports.

Standards were reorganized to facilitate the systematic flow of the curriculum. The modifications were limited to preserve the intent of the original set of state standards. The resulting ordering of the standards into their respective grade levels was organized and placed into the following five groupings: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Text Comprehension.

Standards that reflected traditional study skills, including use of a dictionary, library skills, and environmental print were eliminated in order to keep focus on skills and knowledge that directly support reading comprehension. A standard was written for each cluster of the state standards, and either unique state standards were eliminated or a new cluster was developed. The criterion used was to focus on directly supporting reading comprehension.

Summary of research relevant to the Electronic Learning Resource, if available

Overview of the Validation and Effectiveness of the StudyDog Reading Program available at http://www.studydog.com/personalvalidation.asp